This is the last photo I made of a B-Logistics train. 10 days later, the company was rebranded to Lineas. It was all about the name then: we had to wait a few more days before the first Lineas styled locomotives would exit the workshop.On a nice April evening, we see 1329 with mixed freight train 41898 on the way to Antwerp. It left Somain a few hours earlier.

]]>https://railscapes.blog/2020/04/18/the-end-and-a-new-beginning/feed/0BLX 1329, Zulte 18.4.2017gpacketSame but differenthttps://railscapes.blog/2020/04/10/same-but-different/
https://railscapes.blog/2020/04/10/same-but-different/#respondFri, 10 Apr 2020 16:47:17 +0000http://railscapes.blog/?p=1759Another shot of the same train as one week earlier, with a different consist. On April 11th 2017, almost exactly 3 years ago, an SNCF TRAXX locomotive was seen transporting coal wagons towards France.

SNCF’s 186 184 with a coal train towards France. De Pinte, 11.4.2017

]]>https://railscapes.blog/2020/04/10/same-but-different/feed/0AKIEM 186 184 (SNCF), De Pinte 11.4.2017gpacketTubes for Francehttps://railscapes.blog/2020/04/06/tubes-for-france/
https://railscapes.blog/2020/04/06/tubes-for-france/#respondMon, 06 Apr 2020 18:44:59 +0000http://railscapes.blog/?p=1755As shadows were getting longer, a distant noise announced the train I came here for. The rush hour train with a 21 series locomotive was nice, and a freight train would only make it better. The then regular SNCF train towards France was about right on time and marked the moment to head home after a succesfull photo-evening.

SNCF’s 186 184 with a train full of tubes towards France. De Pinte, 4.4.2017

]]>https://railscapes.blog/2020/04/06/tubes-for-france/feed/0AKIEM 186 184 (SNCF), De Pinte 4.4.2017gpacketNostalgia to comehttps://railscapes.blog/2020/04/02/nostalgia-to-come/
https://railscapes.blog/2020/04/02/nostalgia-to-come/#respondThu, 02 Apr 2020 20:04:43 +0000http://railscapes.blog/?p=1752What is now a classic view may be over sooner than later. The 21 series locomotives are being phased out, just like the M4 coaches. They are now primarily used on rush hour trains, just like the 22 series locomotives with their M2 coaches a couple of years ago. They may seem unintersting now, but we’ll look at the pictures with nostalgic feelings once the rail scene has been taken over by M6, M7 and desiro trains.

A rush hour train, about to unload passengers at De Pinte. 4.4.2017

]]>https://railscapes.blog/2020/04/02/nostalgia-to-come/feed/0B 2157, De Pinte 4.4.2017gpacketCoal, and some historyhttps://railscapes.blog/2020/03/29/coal-and-some-history/
https://railscapes.blog/2020/03/29/coal-and-some-history/#respondSun, 29 Mar 2020 11:07:56 +0000http://railscapes.blog/?p=1748During the commute home, I had noticed a couple of times a train pulled by an SNCF TRAXX in the early evening. With the days getting longer, a few photo opportunities presented.We see a coal train coming from the direction of Gent, towards France. The rail line is starting a big S-curve here, that will end up in Gent-Sint-Pieters station. A really long time ago, the line would run straight, in the alignment of the street that can be seen on the right. It would finally end up in Gent-Zuid station. Today the railway bed has been revived by a bicycle highway – a very convenient and fast way to Gent, I must say. Along the highway, if you look well, you can still find some relics of the old line.

A coal train towards France is entering De Pinte. 28.3.2017

]]>https://railscapes.blog/2020/03/29/coal-and-some-history/feed/0SNCF 186 184, De Pinte 28.3.2017gpacketPetrolhttps://railscapes.blog/2020/03/24/petrol/
https://railscapes.blog/2020/03/24/petrol/#respondTue, 24 Mar 2020 20:19:38 +0000http://railscapes.blog/?p=1745From the Ijsland section, locomotive 7807 continued north, towards the Petrol section. Interesting, maybe the crew was going to pick up a train. I caught them back at the outer end of the Petrol shunting yard in a setting that makes it easy to see where the shunting yard got its name.

Shunting for the chemical industry. Antwerp, 27.2.2017

]]>https://railscapes.blog/2020/03/24/petrol/feed/0D170244 BLX 7807 Antwerpen Bundel Petrol 27.2.2017gpacketAfter dropping off some carshttps://railscapes.blog/2020/03/23/after-dropping-off-some-cars/
https://railscapes.blog/2020/03/23/after-dropping-off-some-cars/#respondMon, 23 Mar 2020 21:03:31 +0000http://railscapes.blog/?p=1740A loose engine is entering the Ijsland section of the port of Antwerp’s rail network. It has just dropped off some cars at the Amerika-Zuid section.When visiting the port, I always make sure to check what’s happening at this section. Very often there is some activity, and at the time it still lokked very authentic. Now concrete blocks have been installed to separate rail from road.
Lineas 7807 comes from the Amerika-Zuid section and is entering the Ijsland section. Antwerp, 27.2.2017
]]>https://railscapes.blog/2020/03/23/after-dropping-off-some-cars/feed/0BLX 7807, Antwerpen Bundel Ijsland 27.2.2017gpacketOpportunities aheadhttps://railscapes.blog/2020/03/22/1732/
https://railscapes.blog/2020/03/22/1732/#respondSun, 22 Mar 2020 18:31:05 +0000http://railscapes.blog/?p=1732These Corona-times are strange. Stuck at home, no more physical social contact or activities. As already stated by a few opinion makers, I also believe this void will make place for human creativity to come up with solutions for everyone’s daily needs.

Creativity will also be needed to keep the trains running. Be it on the level of the rail operator, maintainer, supporting staff. Rail is, today more than ever, an essential part of the logistic chain to provide us food and medicine. This crisis may trigger new ways of working that could be game-changers and assist to a long-term modal shift to rail. Fingers crossed.

Returning to my home town after a short photo trip, before turning into my street, I saw some freight wagons standing still near my house. It turned out that one of the wagons had a problem with the brakes. The train driver got it fixed, and got the train back moving when I arrived on the spot. This location has changed quite a bit: as part of the modal shift from car to bicycle, a bicycle highway was built here, together with a fence.

Europorte France with a tanker train in the setting sun in De Pinte. 18.2.2017
]]>https://railscapes.blog/2020/03/22/1732/feed/0BRLL 4004 (EPF), De Pinte 18.2.2017gpacketRedhttps://railscapes.blog/2019/09/29/red/
https://railscapes.blog/2019/09/29/red/#respondSun, 29 Sep 2019 12:37:52 +0000http://railscapes.blog/?p=1726Photoshop or not? Contrary to what you may think, only timing and luck were needed to get the red tractor next to the identicaly colored DB engines.No idea if this location still exists, or if bicycle highway fences are blocking the view.

]]>https://railscapes.blog/2019/09/29/red/feed/0DB 6520 + 6502, Beervelde 18.2.2017gpacketAbout fenceshttps://railscapes.blog/2019/08/19/about-fences/
https://railscapes.blog/2019/08/19/about-fences/#respondMon, 19 Aug 2019 04:59:42 +0000http://railscapes.blog/?p=1716Railway lines usually follow a smooth profile, and their route is therefore very suitable for different forms of soft transport. Line 59 between Gent and Antwerp is no exceptions: a bicycle highway is being constructed on large portions of the line. Extremely useful for sporty commuters.Add to that the inexplicable urge to place fences all over the place -> the bicycle highways are a challenge for rail photographers (the Flemish seem to adore fences, even on their private property. Useful in some cases, but just ugly and highly unnecessary in my modest opinion). In Beervelde it was still possible to picture trains in 2017. Here we see a mixed train from DB Cargo on its way from the port of Ghent to the Netherlands.

A train with mainly chemical products originating from the port of Ghent, on its way to the Netherlands. Beervelde 18.2.2017